News & Stories
2025 Kalkaska Citizen and Business of the Year Winners
Image description: The Elmaple Farm Family standing together in front of the Elmaple farm sign outside on a bright day with the farm and trees in the background.
This year’s award winners for Kalkaska Citizen of the Year are Dave and Sharon Stockford, former longtime educators in Kalkaska Public Schools, and three local potato farms—Elmaple Farm, Iott Seed Farms, and Jenkins Potato Farm—have been collectively named Kalkaska Business of the Year.
Dave and Sharon Stockford, 2025 Kalkaska Citizens of the Year
“We are truly humbled to be chosen as Citizens of the Year,” said Dave and Sharon Stockford. “Ever since coming to Kalkaska 53 years ago, we have dedicated our lives to doing all we can to make a positive difference in the thousands of children and teens, staff, friends, and neighbors who have been a part of living in this great community and county. In return, we have been richly blessed in countless ways.”
The award winners were selected through a community nomination process facilitated by the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation and the Kalkaska Awards Committee. The Citizen of the Year Award was established in 1970 to honor a Kalkaska area community member for their exceptional service and commitment to the local community while the Business of the Year Award was established in 2005 to honor a local business for their outstanding service.
Bryan Fischer, Greg Iott, Ralph Iott, and Dennis Iott of Iott Seed Farms, 2025 Kalkaska Business of the Year
“It is humbling to be awarded the Kalkaska Business of the Year along with the Iott's and Jenkin's for doing what we do in our little part of the county,” said the Cotton Family. “We are very glad the Awards Committee decided to award all three operations together as an industry in the county. While we each do our own things with our own teams, we work together constantly for the betterment of the potato industry and our community. The end goal being leaving a sustainable and viable operation for our generations following.”
The award winners will be honored at the 55th Annual Kalkaska Luncheon on Tuesday, April 22 from 11:30 am-1:00 pm at Railroad Square Pavilion in downtown Kalkaska. The event is hosted by the Community Foundation and sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, The Chiropractic Center, Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realtors, DTE Energy, Farrier Surveying, Inc., Forest Area Credit Union, Hague Equipment Company, Kalkaska Memorial Health Center, Kalkaska Public Schools, Northland Foods, Traverse Connect, Twin Birch Golf Course, and Woodland Creek Furniture. The Luncheon is currently sold out, with the full cost of event registrations supporting the Community Foundation’s Endowment for Kalkaska Area, a permanent fund dedicated to supporting the Kalkaska community.
Bird’s-eye view of Jenkins Family Farms, LLC, 2025 Kalkaska Business of the Year
“The Jenkins Family has been blessed with the opportunity to farm in Kalkaska for over a century. We graciously and humbly accept this nomination and thank our community for recognizing us for simply doing what we love to do!” said the Jenkins Family. “It is truly an honor to share this recognition with our good friends and neighbors, the Cottons and the Iotts! We sincerely hope this way of living can continue for generations to come on all three farms.”
In addition to recognizing the 2025 Kalkaska Business and Citizen of the Year award winners, the Community Foundation supports the scholarship award for this year’s Miss Kalkaska, who will be invited to attend the Luncheon.
The Elmaple Farm Family, 2025 Kalkaska Business of the Year
“All of us at Iott Seed Farms are blessed by the friendships and trust that we have experienced in this community for the past 50-plus years. When Dad and Uncle Jim started in Kalkaska in 1974, we had no inkling that this would be such a life-changing experience for the whole family,” said Dennis Iott. “It is a privilege to know so many good friends and neighbors in both the Kalkaska community and the potato industry. We are grateful that we can make a living doing what we do in such a great place with so many great people.”